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The Price of Victory

Milan finally convinced on Sunday, with a 3-1 win over Lazio
at the Stadio Olimpico. But that victory came at a great cost, as there were at
least three injuries in that match and a yellow card accumulation suspension to
be handed down. With the recovery period still unknown for the injured, we
start to ask ourselves: Was this victory worth the toll on our starting eleven?
What exactly will be the price of victory?

That's a lot of starters likely to be out

My first reaction is that this victory was important at any
cost. Because psychologically, you cannot put a price on all that was
accomplished: a solid defeat of a team that were above us on the table, our
third victory in a row, and a convincing performance, amongst other
accomplishments. It was a culmination of all of the hard work and the adversity
and criticism from absolutely everyone for so long now. I like to believe that
the bench are ready to step in and step up and play in the same way. But then I
remembered what our bench looked like this summer, and the vast chasm that
separated the skill level of our starters vs. out bench players. Especially in
our midfield.

Bertolacci is ruled out for Saturday with a tear of a thigh
muscle. I have yet to hear about how Montolivo’s scans went as of this writing,
but he also seemed to have some kind of muscle injury. Alex’s scans after being
knocked unconscious were reportedly fine, but with the emphasis on proper care
for head traumas, it would be very surprising (and also very negligent) for him
to play on Saturday. Bonaventura, easily MOTM on Sunday, received his fifth
yellow card of the season, so will sit out Saturday as well. And as if the
in-game losses weren’t enough, it was revealed today that Diego Lopez has been
suffering with a knee problem for some time now, and won’t be able to play for
a while in order to clear it up.

"How do I find consistency with so many starters missing?"

That is four starters likely out, plus a recent starter out
for a goodly period of time. In addition to the injuries we were already
carrying. I feel like we have options at center back – Ely, Zapata, or Mexes
could step in, and none of those options would keep me up at night. But losing
three midfielders all at once is definitely going to keep me up. I’m almost
excited to see De Jong should Montolivo not be fit. But we would replace
Bertolacci I guess with Poli, which leaves slim pickings to replace
Bonaventura. I mean can you replace Bonaventura? I suppose Miahjlovic might try
Honda on that side, but I don’t remember if he’s even played there for us. And
as much as I love him, he is a very different kind of player to Bonaventura.
There’s also Nocerino… which actually isn’t as frightening as it sounds when
you think of how well suited he is to the long balls Montolivo is so fond of
playing. But not in the attacking three, so then do you put Poli there? I’m
guessing Mihajlovic isn’t getting a lot of sleep between now and Atalanta,
either.

If Milan can pull off just one more win, that puts us in
great shape psychologically heading into the international break. We’ve
handicapped ourselves heavily with this rash of injuries and suspension all in
one game, but if we take the psychological momentum we gained from the win and also
the home advantage, we may just be able to pull it off. Then we can evaluate
fitness levels and worry about Juventus after the break. Will we suffer the
price of victory? I guess we’ll find out on Saturday.

This post inspired by the music of
The Prodigy’s “Take Me To The Hospital”